Visits: 9
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi walks outside of the New York Stock Exchange its highly anticipated initial public offering on May 10, 2019.
Spencer Platt | Getty Images
Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading.
Morgan Stanley — Shares of the nation’s fourth-largest bank sunk 2.8% following a downgrade from Citigroup to neutral from buy. The firm said the stock is fairly valued and there isn’t enough upside to justify a buy rating given Morgan Stanley’s recent outperformance, spurred by earnings.
Beyond Meat — Alternative meat company Beyond Meat’s stock jumped 18.4% after Starbucks announced plans to add more plant-based items to its menu. Shares of Beyond Meat also soared after McDonald’s announced it will test plant-based burgers in Canada.
Tesla — Shares of the electric automaker gained 7.2% after New Street Research raised its target on the stock to $800 and reiterated its buy rating. The firm said that demand for the vehicles is strong, and that management is executing. Tesla shares have more than doubled over the last three months.
Uber — Shares of the ride-hailing app jumped 7% after the company said it sold its Eats business in India to competitor Zomato, an Indian restaurant aggregator and food delivery start-up. The sale gives Uber a 9.99% stake in the business. Uber was also named Morgan Stanley’s top technology stock pick for 2020 on Tuesday. The firm said Uber’s stock can rally 60% this year.
Halliburton — Halliburton shares rose more then 1% but closed down 0.8% after the oilfield services company posted better-than-expected quarterly results. The company reported a profit of 32 cents per share on revenue of $5.191 billion. Analysts polled by Refinitiv expected earnings of 29 cents per share on sales of $5.103 billion. CEO Jeff Miller cited growth in Halliburton’s international business as a strong point in the quarter.
Wynn Resorts, Las Vegas Sands — Shares of Wynn Resorts and Las Vegas Sands fell 6.1% and 5.4%, respectively, amid fears that the coronavirus outbreak in China would weaken international travel. Las Vegas Sands was also downgraded to equal weight from overweight at Morgan Stanley, which said the market might be too bullish on gambling companies in Macau and that Wynn has a more attractive valuation.
Costco — Shares of Costco jumped 2.8% after Oppenheimer upgraded the retailer to outperform from perform and named Costco a top pick. The firm said Costco’s recent underperformance is a good entry point into the stock. Oppenheimer also raised its price target on Costco to $335 per share from $300 per share.
Comerica — Shares of financial services company Comerica fell 3.5% after it said its net interest income will fall by $10 million to $15 million in the first quarter of 2020, hurt by low interest rates. Despite the disappointing forecast, Comerica beat on the top and bottom lines for its fourth quarter earnings.
PetMed Express — Shares of PetMed Express dropped 6% after the company missed revenue expectations for its fiscal third quarter as sales declined slightly. The company reported 34 cents of adjusted earnings per share and $59.9 million of revenue. Analysts expected 30 cents in earnings per share and $61.3 million in revenue, according to Refinitiv. CEO Menderes Akdag said in a release that the company will focus on improving its marketing in the coming year.
Logitech — Logitech International surged 2.6% on better-than-expected quarterly results. The Swiss electronics manufacturer reported earnings of 84 cents per share on revenue of $902.7 million, while analysts polled by Refinitiv expected earnings of 79 per share on revenue of $897.2 million.
— with reporting from CNBC’s Fred Imbert, Pippa Stevens, Jesse Pound and Sunny Kim.